To the Church (Against Avarice) 4.1–4.50
Latin text: CSEL 8 (Latin text: CSEL, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 4
4.1CSEL 8:301
Non me praeterit, domina mi ecclesia, nutrix beatae spei, haec quae libellis superioribus diximus, nonnullis filiis tuis Christum parum amantibus displicere. sed nos uoluntates eorum non magni pendimus, quia nec mirum est, ut eis loquentia de deo uerba non placeant, quibus ipse forsitan deus non placet, nec expectandum, ut insinuatorem salutis atque animarum sermonem ament qui salutem ipsam atque animas suas non amant. sufficiunt itaque, sicut in aliis, ita etiam in hac parte nobis sensus tantum et iudicia sanctorum: quibus idem atque apud nos sentientibus, certi profecto sumus etiam deum ipsum sentire nobiscum, quia, cum in sanctis suis spiritus dei maneat, absque dubio deus illic est, ubi illa pars fuerit, a qua dei spiritus non recedit.
I am well aware, O my lady church, nurse of blessed hope, that what we said in the preceding books displeases some of your children who love Christ too little. But we do not set great store by their wishes, since it is no wonder that words speaking of God do not please those whom perhaps God himself does not please, nor is it to be expected that those who do not love salvation itself and their own souls should love speech that commends salvation and souls. So, as in other things, here too the mind and judgments of the holy are enough for us; since they think as we do, we are surely certain that God himself thinks with us, because, since the Spirit of God abides in his saints, God is without doubt there where that part is from which the Spirit of God does not depart.
Notes and citation
Summary: Book 4: Salvian’s teaching displeases worldly Christians but agrees with the holy, and so with God.
- The chapter numeral “I” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text): I. Non me praeterit → Non me praeterit.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.1 (CSEL 8:301; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.2CSEL 8:301
prauorum ergo hominum, id est uel paganorum uel mundialium, sensus aut parui aestimandi sunt aut nihil omnino faciendi: quia si hominibus, inquit apostolus, placere uellem, Christi seruus non essem. illud durius ac molestius, quod quidam, ut arbitror, filiorum tuorum sub religionis titulo a religione dissentiunt et habitu magis saeculum reliquere quam sensu: quorum, ni fallor, sententia hoc habet atque adserit, omni omnino homini Christiano propinquitatem in exitu magis considerandam esse quam Christum.
So the opinions of depraved men, that is, of pagans or worldly people, are to be little valued or counted as nothing at all: “for if I wished to please men,” says the apostle, “I would not be a servant of Christ.” What is harder and more troublesome is that some of your children, I think, dissent from religion under the title of religion and have left the world more in dress than in mind: whose opinion, if I am not mistaken, holds and asserts that every Christian at all must consider kinship rather than Christ at his departure.
Gal 1:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Some professed religious teach that at death kin should come before Christ.
- Gal 1:10.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.2 (CSEL 8:301; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.3CSEL 8:301–302
et quia profana penitus per se erat execrabilisque sententia, uelare, ut puto, infidelissimam praedicationem quasi umbratili quadam adiectione conantur dicentes cunctos, qui credant deum, sanos tantum atque incolumes officiosos Christo esse debere, ceterum iam exeuntes e saeculo carnalis magis propinquitatis quam diuini officii oportere meminisse. quasi uero homines Christianos alios esse oporteat incolumes alios de hoc saeculo recedentes, et alios se cuncti exhibere Christo debeant in sospitate alios in morte, alios in superiore uita alios in posteriore.
And since the opinion was wholly profane and execrable in itself, they try, I think, to veil this most faithless teaching with a sort of shadowy addition, saying that all who believe in God should be dutiful to Christ only while healthy and well, but that those already leaving the world should remember fleshly kinship rather than the divine service. As though Christians should be one thing when well and another when departing this world, and all should present themselves to Christ one way in health and another in death, one way in their earlier life and another in their later.
Notes and citation
Summary: They claim duty to Christ binds the healthy but not the dying.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.3 (CSEL 8:301–302; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.4CSEL 8:302
quod si ita est ergo alterum quis habiturus est Christum inuenis alterum senex, et totiens debent homines demutari fide quotiens demutantur aetate. si enim erga dei cultum alter quispiam futurus est uigens alter infirmus, alter sanus alter aegrotans, ergo prout status fuerit humani corporis inaequalis, ita erit homini etiam deus ipse mutabilis, et quotiens fuerit in homine ualitudo contraria, totiens erit etiam religio diuersa: quasi uero qui incolumes Christi esse debent morientes Christi esse non debeant.
If this is so, then one will have one Christ as a young man and another as an old man, and men must change their faith as often as they change in age. For if one is to be one thing toward the worship of God when vigorous and another when weak, one when healthy and another when sick, then as the state of the human body varies, so God himself will be changeable to man, and as often as there is a change of health in a man, so often will his religion be different: as though those who must be Christ’s when well need not be Christ’s when dying.
Notes and citation
Summary: Such a view makes faith change with age and health.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.4 (CSEL 8:302; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.5CSEL 8:302
et ubi illud est: qui perseuerauerit in finem, hic saluus erit, aut illud in prouerbiis sacris diuini sermonis oraculum: sapientia, in exitu canitur? quo utique ostenditur, licet salubris sit in omni aetate sapientia, praecipue tamen omnes in exitu suo debere esse sapientes, quia laudari penitus praeteritae aetatis prudentia non merebitur, nisi bono fine claudatur; sapientia enim in exitu canitur.
And where is that word, “He who perseveres to the end will be saved,” or that oracle of the divine word in the sacred Proverbs: “Wisdom is sung in the departure”? By this it is shown that, although wisdom is wholesome at every age, all ought especially to be wise at their departure, because the prudence of the past age will in no way deserve praise unless it is closed by a good end; for wisdom is sung in the departure.
Matt 10:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 1:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture demands perseverance to the end, when wisdom is praised.
- Matt 10:22; Prov 1:20 in the Latin form Salvian knew (“Sapientia in exitu canitur”, ‘wisdom sings aloud in the street’, read as ‘at the end’).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.5 (CSEL 8:302; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.6CSEL 8:302–303
cur eam non dixit cani in pueritia non in iuuentate, non in statu rerum incolumium non in prosperitatibus secundorum? scilicet quia in his omnibus quidquid laudatur incertum est. quamdiu enim quis subiacet mutationi, non potest cum securitate laudari et ideo, ut ait, sapientia in exitu canitur. exiens enim quis de incertis periculorum certum merebitur euasa omnium rerum uarietate suffragium, quia tum stabilis et firma laus est, quando meritum iam non potest perire laudati. sapientia, inquit, in exitu canitur.
Why did it not say that wisdom is sung in boyhood, not in youth, not in a state of safety, not in prosperity? Because in all these whatever is praised is uncertain. For as long as anyone is subject to change, he cannot be praised with security; and so, as it says, wisdom is sung in the departure. For one departing from the uncertainties of dangers will earn certain approval, having escaped the variety of all things, because praise is stable and firm when the merit of the one praised can no longer perish. “Wisdom,” it says, “is sung in the departure.”
Prov 1:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Praise is secure only at the end, when merit can no longer be lost.
- Prov 1:20 (Latin).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.6 (CSEL 8:302–303; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-6
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.7CSEL 8:303
quid est, quaeso, sapientia Christiani? quid nisi timor et amor Christi? initium enim, inquit, sapientiae timor domini: et alibi perfecta, inquit, dilectio foras mittit timorem. ergo ut uidemus, initium sapientiae est in timore Christi perfectio in amore. itaque si sapientia Christiani timor est atque amor domini, ita demum uere sapientes sumus, si deum semper ac super omnia diligamus, et hoc cum omni tempore tum praecipue in exitu nostro, quia sapientia in exitu canitur.
What, I ask, is a Christian’s wisdom? What but the fear and love of Christ? “For the beginning of wisdom,” it says, “is the fear of the Lord”; and elsewhere: “Perfect love,” it says, “casts out fear.” So, as we see, the beginning of wisdom lies in the fear of Christ, its perfection in love. So if a Christian’s wisdom is the fear and love of the Lord, we are truly wise only if we love God always and above all, and this at all times but especially at our departure, because wisdom is sung in the departure.
Ps 111:10 (110:10 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 4:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christian wisdom is the fear and love of God, above all at death.
- Ps 111:10 (Vulgate 110:10) / Prov 9:10; 1 John 4:18.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.7 (CSEL 8:303; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-7
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.8CSEL 8:303–304
Si ergo sapientia per hoc maxime in exitu canitur, si deus super omnia diligatur, quae igitur insania est, ut dicat aliquis Christum carnali propinquitati praeponi ab incolumibus oportere, a morientibus non debere? cur enim eum praeferant incolumes, si non debent praeferre morientes? aut si potest quispiam religiose agnatos atque adfines suos Christo in morte praeponere, cur non religiose etiam ante praeponat? aut si est ulla hora in uita ultima, qua quis plus alios diligere debeat quam se ipsum aut deum, cur non et in uita anteriore plus diligat?
If, then, wisdom is sung at the departure chiefly because God is loved above all, what madness is it for someone to say that Christ ought to be preferred to fleshly kinship by the healthy but need not be by the dying? Why should the healthy prefer him, if the dying need not? Or if anyone can religiously put his relatives and in-laws before Christ in death, why should he not religiously put them before him earlier too? Or if there is any hour in the last part of life in which one ought to love others more than oneself or God, why not love them more in the earlier part of life also?
Notes and citation
Summary: If kin may come before Christ at death, they could equally do so at any time.
- The chapter numeral “II” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text): II. Si ergo sapientia → Si ergo sapientia.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.8 (CSEL 8:303–304; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-8
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.9CSEL 8:304
ac sic fit ut soluantur omnia et euanescant et intereant, neque ullum quis uiliorem habeat quam se ipsum neque ullum inferiorem quam deum. si enim ullum est tempus, quo ab aliquo possit deus adfinibus aut propinquis iure postponi, nullum est, quo possit iure praeponi: sin autem, quod uerum est, nullum est omnino tempus, quo non debeat anteponi, nullum est omnino tempus, quo possit iure postponi. nullum utique, et ideo ne in extremis quidem, quia etiam iustum hominem propheta in die, qua errauerit, dicit esse periturum.
And so everything is dissolved, vanishes, and perishes, and a man holds no one cheaper than himself and no one lower than God. For if there is any time at which God can rightly be placed after in-laws or relatives, there is no time at which he can rightly be placed before them; but if, as is true, there is no time at all at which he must not be placed first, there is no time at all at which he can rightly be placed after. None at all, and therefore not even at the end, since the prophet says that even a righteous man will perish in the day in which he goes astray.
Ezek 33:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 18:24 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God must always be put first, even at the end, since even the righteous perish if they fall away.
- Ezek 33:12–13; 18:24.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and stray mark): ac sio fit ut soluantur. omnia → ac sic fit ut soluantur omnia.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.9 (CSEL 8:304; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-9
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.10CSEL 8:304
itaque si omnis error errantis perditione multatur et his quoque erroribus uita hominum periclitatur, quibus usitate atque communiter innocentia humana polluitur, quid futurum existimamus, ubi in deum ipsum detestabili infidelitate peccatur? si enim, inquit apostolus, omnis inoboedientia iustam accipit mercedis retributionem quo modo nos effugiemus, si tantam neglexerimus salutem? nullus autem salutem ueram plus neglegit, quam qui deo aliquid anteponit. cum enim salus nostra munus ac misericordia dei sit, quae ei ratio consequendae salutis est, qui deum ipsum despicit, in cuius misericordia salus nostra consistit?
So if every error of one who errs is punished by perdition, and men’s life is endangered even by those errors by which human innocence is usually and commonly defiled, what do we think will happen where sin is committed against God himself by detestable unbelief? “For if,” says the apostle, “every disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” And no one neglects true salvation more than one who puts anything before God. For since our salvation is the gift and mercy of God, what way of obtaining salvation has he who despises God himself, in whose mercy our salvation consists?
Heb 2:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 2:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Putting anything before God is the greatest neglect of salvation.
- Heb 2:2–3.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.10 (CSEL 8:304; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-10
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.11CSEL 8:304–305
aut cum iudex et uiuorum sit deus et mortuorum, quae ei spes in dei iudicio esse poterit, qui eum etiam moriens iudicio suo spreuerit, a quo est statim mortuus iudicandus? et ideo, ut scriptura diuina ait, in quo iudicio iudicat, in eo iudicabitur de eo, hoc est: quo iudicio iudicat de deo, eo ipse iudicabitur a deo, neque iniquum putare poterit, si eum cunctis in futuro dominus postposuerit, qui in praesenti deum cunctis ipse postponit, nec queri, si eum omnibus deus aestimet damnabiliorem, cum ipse omnibus deum. aestimet uiliorem.
Or since God is judge of the living and the dead, what hope can there be in God’s judgment for one who, even when dying, has despised him by his own judgment, by whom he is at once to be judged when dead? And so, as divine Scripture says, by the judgment with which he judges he will be judged; that is, by the judgment with which he judges concerning God he will himself be judged by God. Nor can he think it unjust if in the future the Lord sets him after all, who in the present himself sets God after all, nor complain if God judges him more damnable than all, when he himself judges God cheaper than all.
2 Tim 4:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 7:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Whoever ranks God last will be ranked last by God.
- 2 Tim 4:1; Matt 7:2.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.11 (CSEL 8:304–305; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-11
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.12CSEL 8:305
Sed dicit aliquis non se hoc animo ista facere, quo aut contemnat deum aut uilem putet, sed quo uel amet eos, quos heredes instituit, uel honoret. adquiescamus hoc ita esse: omnibus ferme etiam aliis flagitiosissimis et criminosissimis reis excusatio ista suppetit. nam dicere et fornicatoribus licet non se hoc animo fornicari, quo deum spernant, quia calore corporis atque infirmitate uincantur. et homicidae id adfirmare possunt, non se contemptu dei humanum sanguinem fundere: uel odio enim se uel cupiditati tantum scelera praestare.
But someone says that he does not do these things with the intention of despising God or thinking him cheap, but to love or honor those he appoints heirs. Let us grant that it is so: this excuse is available to almost all other most shameful and criminal offenders too. Fornicators may say that they do not commit fornication with the intention of scorning God, but because they are overcome by the heat and weakness of the body. Murderers may affirm that they do not shed human blood out of contempt for God, but commit their crimes only from hatred or greed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Claiming no contempt for God is the excuse of every sinner.
- The chapter numeral “III” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text; stray mark): III. Sed dicit aliquis non se → Sed dicit aliquis non se; homicidae id adfirmare. possunt → homicidae id adfirmare possunt.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.12 (CSEL 8:305; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-12
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.13CSEL 8:305
sed quid prodest malis haec excusatio, cum scilicet nihil intersit, qua se quispiam dicat peccare causa, cum sit omne peccatum diuinitatis iniuria? adquiescamus tamen, ut supra dixi, hoc ita esse, nec ex contemptu dei res suas quempiam alii magis quam deo tradere, sed uel honore heredis sui se ad hoc trahi uel certe amore conpelli. sed quid facimus, quod hoc ipso magis incuria dei probatur atque contemptus?
But what good is this excuse to the wicked, since it makes no difference for what reason anyone says he sins, since every sin is an injury to the Godhead? Yet let us grant, as I said above, that it is so, and that no one hands over his goods to another rather than to God out of contempt for God, but is drawn to it by honor for his heir or at least compelled by love. But what are we to do, since by this very thing neglect and contempt of God are proved the more?
Notes and citation
Summary: Every sin wrongs God, and the excuse itself proves contempt.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray mark; stray marks): prodest malis: haec excusatio → prodest malis haec excusatio; qua ae quispiam → qua se quispiam; ut supra. dixi, hoc. ita esse → ut supra dixi, hoc ita esse.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.13 (CSEL 8:305; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-13
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.14CSEL 8:305
si enim, o quisquis es, per id, quod heredibus tuis uel quibuscumque res proprias derelinquis, et honorare te eos indicas et amare, deum utique, cui non relinquis, nec honorare te indicas nec amare. ac per hoc quidquid pro te dixeris contra te est et ad contemptum atque ad contumeliam dei pertinet amor et honorificentia ceterorum.
For if, whoever you are, by leaving your goods to your heirs or to anyone else you show that you honor and love them, you surely show that you neither honor nor love God, to whom you do not leave them. And so whatever you say for yourself is against you, and your love and honor of others amount to contempt and insult toward God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Leaving goods to others shows that one does not honor or love God.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): atque a.d contumeliam → atque ad contumeliam.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.14 (CSEL 8:305; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-14
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.15CSEL 8:305–306
cum enim aliis ideo relinquas, quia eos honora, deum, cui non relinquis, utique non honora: cum aliis ideo relinquas multa, quoniam amas, deo ideo non relinquis profecto, quia non amas. ecce enim adsistit tibi morienti atque testanti homo pariter ac deus. res aperta est et non dubia: quem elegeris, praetulisti. si in uno est honor solo, necesse est in alio inueniatur esse despectio. si homo, qui praefertur, gaudet se a te diligi, necesse est ut se doleat deus, qui praetermittitur, non amari.
For since you leave to others because you honor them, you surely do not honor God, to whom you do not leave; since you leave much to others because you love them, you surely do not leave to God because you do not love him. For behold, man and God alike stand by you as you die and make your will. The matter is plain and not doubtful: the one you have chosen, you have preferred. If honor is in one alone, contempt must be found in the other. If the man who is preferred rejoices that he is loved by you, God, who is passed over, must grieve that he is not loved.
Notes and citation
Summary: Choosing an heir over God is preferring him to God.
- “Honora” in the digital text is read as honoras; translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): deo ideo non. relinquis → deo ideo non relinquis.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.15 (CSEL 8:305–306; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-15
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.16CSEL 8:306
sed putas deum uidelicet munificentia hominis non egere, et ideo, quid necesse est, inquis, ab homine ei quippiam tribui, qui ipse cuncta omnibus dedit? utrum egeat munificentia nostra dominus an non egeat, aut quomodo uel egeat uel non egeat iam uidebimus. interim, quia ab eo cunctis cuncta praestari etiam tu negare non ausus es, hoc dignior est absque dubio largitate nostra, quia nobis ipse ante largitus est. hoc iustius ei officiis respondere temptamus, quo beneficiis illius magis inpares sumus.
But you think, no doubt, that God does not need man’s munificence, and so you say: “What need is there for anything to be given by man to him who himself gave all things to all?” Whether the Lord needs our munificence or not, or how he needs or does not need it, we shall soon see. Meanwhile, since even you have not dared to deny that all things are granted to all by him, he is without doubt the more worthy of our generosity because he was generous to us first. We try the more justly to answer him with services, the more unequal we are to his benefits.
Notes and citation
Summary: Because God gave everything first, he is all the more worthy of our gifts.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.16 (CSEL 8:306; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-16
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.17CSEL 8:306
nam et natura ipsa hominum consuetudoque communis hac quasi generali cunctos lege constringit, ut a quibus aliquid liberalitatis accipimus, plus eis gratiae debeamus: artat quippe nos ad retributionem dati accepta largitio. ante usum enim ac munificentiam liberalitatis alienae liber est quispiam, beneficiorum faenore non grauatus. coguntur autem omnes ipsa conscientia sua ad repensationem uicissitudinis, postquam esse coeperint debitores.
For human nature itself and common custom bind all by a sort of general law, that we owe more gratitude to those from whom we receive some liberality; for generosity received binds us to repay what is given. Before the use and munificence of another’s liberality a man is free, not burdened by the interest of benefits; but all are compelled by their own conscience to make a return once they have begun to be debtors.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gifts received create a debt of gratitude.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): beneficiorum faenore non grauatus. - coguntur → beneficiorum faenore non grauatus. coguntur.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.17 (CSEL 8:306; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-17
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.18CSEL 8:306
ita ergo et deo hoc maiora debemus, quod ab eo cuncta percepimus, et hoc respondere beneficiis illius minus possumus quod ei etiamsi quae debemus redhibere cupiamus, tamen de suo reddimus. ac per hoc non est quod placere sibi quisquam largitione sua debeat. sicut sua non sunt cuncta, quae a domino suo accipit, sic sua non sunt cuncta quae reddit. et ideo perfidiae quidem poena debetur ei, qui negauerit deo quae sunt sibi ab eodem commodata, inputare autem largitionem non potest, qui reddiderit accepta.
So we owe God the more because we have received everything from him, and we can answer his benefits the less because, even if we wish to return what we owe, we return it from what is his. And so no one should be pleased with himself for his generosity. Just as all that he receives from his Lord is not his own, so all that he returns is not his own. And therefore the punishment of faithlessness is owed to him who has denied God what was lent him by God, but he who has returned what he received cannot claim credit for generosity.
Luke 17:10 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Since all is God’s, giving earns no credit, but withholding deserves punishment.
- Luke 17:10 is echoed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): placere sibi quisquam. largitione → placere sibi quisquam largitione; reddiderit accepta.. → reddiderit accepta..
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.18 (CSEL 8:306; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-18
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.19CSEL 8:306–307
Sed deus, inquis, non eget retributione. nihil minus quam ut non egeat. non eget enim iuxta potentiam suam, sed eget iuxta praeceptionem suam: non eget secundum maiestatem suam, sed eget secundum legem suam, et in ipso se quidem non eget, sed in multis eget: non quaerit in se munificentiam sed in suis quaerit, et ideo non eget quidem iuxta omnipotentiam sed eget iuxta misericordiam: non eget deitate pro semet ipso sed eget pietate pro nobis. quid enim dicit ad pios ac largos dispensatores deus? uenite, benedicti, possidete regnum patris mei, quod uobis paratum est a constitutione mundi: esuriui enim et dedistis mihi manducare, sitiui et dedistis mihi bibere, et alia in hunc modum. et ne hoc causae, de qua nunc loquimur, parum forsitan uideretur, adiecit rerum diuersitatem, auaris et infidelibus dicens: ite maledicti in ignem aeternum, quem parauit pater meus diabolo et angelis eius: esuriui enim et non dedistis mihi manducare, sitiui et non dedistis mihi bibere:
“But God,” you say, “does not need repayment.” Nothing is less true than that he does not need it. He does not need it according to his power, but he needs it according to his precept; he does not need it according to his majesty, but he needs it according to his law; in himself he does not need it, but in many he needs it; he does not seek munificence for himself, but he seeks it in his own; and so he does not need it according to his omnipotence, but he needs it according to his mercy; he does not need it by his Godhead for himself, but he needs it by his kindness for us. For what does God say to pious and generous stewards? “Come, you blessed, possess the kingdom of my Father which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink,” and other things in this manner. And lest this perhaps seem too little for the case of which we are now speaking, he added the contrary, saying to the greedy and faithless: “Go, you cursed, into the eternal fire which my Father prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you did not give me to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me to drink.”
Matt 25:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:41 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:42 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God needs our gifts not in himself but in his poor, as Matt 25 shows.
- Matt 25:34–35, 41–42. The chapter numeral “IIII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked; OCR slip; stray mark): IIII. Sed deus, inquis, non eget tetributione → Sed deus, inquis, non eget retributione; non eget: deitate → non eget deitate; pietate pro nobis., quid → pietate pro nobis. quid.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.19 (CSEL 8:306–307; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-19
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.20CSEL 8:307
ubi sunt qui dicunt dominum Iesum Christum officio nostrorum munerum non egere? ecce et esurire se pariter et sitire et algere commemorat. respondeat quilibet horum, si non eget qui esurire se queritur, si non eget qui se sitire testatur? ego plus addo aliquid, Christum non solum egere cum ceteris sed plus multo egere quam ceteros;
Where are those who say that the Lord Jesus Christ does not need the service of our gifts? Behold, he records that he is hungry and thirsty and cold. Let any of them answer: does he not need, who complains that he is hungry? Does he not need, who testifies that he is thirsty? I add something more: that Christ not only is in need with the rest, but is in need much more than the rest;
Matt 25:35 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ declares that he hungers and thirsts, and so is in need.
- Matt 25:35–36. The sentence continues in 4.21.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): respondeat quilibet horum,. si non → respondeat quilibet horum, si non; qui esurire se, queritur → qui esurire se queritur.
Topics: Ethics, Christology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.20 (CSEL 8:307; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-20
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.21CSEL 8:307
in omni enim pauperum numero non est uniuersorum una paupertas. sunt enim quidam, quibus etiamsi uestimenta desunt alimenta non desunt, multi sunt hospitio egentes uestibus non egentes, multi domo carentes sed non substantia, sunt denique quibus etsi desunt multa non desunt omnia: Christus tantummodo solus est, cui nihil est, quod in omni humano genere non desit. nullus seruorum suorum exulat nullus frigore ac nuditate torquetur, cum quo ille non algeat: solus cum esurientibus esurit solus cum sitientibus sitit. et ideo, quantum ad pietatem illius pertinet, plus quam ceteri eget; omnis enim.
for among the whole number of the poor, the poverty of all is not one. There are some who, though they lack clothing, do not lack food; many lack shelter but not clothes; many lack a house but not substance; there are, finally, those who, though they lack much, do not lack everything. Christ alone is the one to whom nothing is lacking that is lacking in the whole human race. None of his servants is an exile, none is tormented by cold and nakedness, with whom he does not shiver: he alone hungers with the hungry, he alone thirsts with the thirsty. And so, as far as his kindness goes, he is in need more than the rest; for every
Matt 25:40 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ shares the need of every poor person and so is the neediest of all.
- The sentence continues in 4.22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): uniu$rsorum → uniuersorum.
Topics: Ethics, Christology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.21 (CSEL 8:307; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-21
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.22CSEL 8:307–308
egestuosus pro se tantum et in se eget, solus tantummodo Christus est, qui in omnium pauperum uniuersitate mendicet.
needy man is in need for himself only and in himself; Christ alone is the one who begs in the whole body of all the poor.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ begs in all the poor.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Christus eat, qui → Christus est, qui.
Topics: Ethics, Christology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.22 (CSEL 8:307–308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-22
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.23CSEL 8:308
et cum haec ita sint, quid ais, o homo! qui Christianum te esse dicis, cum Christum egere uideas, tu facultates tuas quibuscumque non indigentibus derelinquis? Christus pauper est et tu opes diuitum cumulas? Christus esurit et tu delicias afluentibus paras? Christus etiam aquam sibi deesse queritur et a te apothecae ebriosorum uino replentur? Christus rerum omnium egestate conficitur et a te luxuriosis copiae congregantur? Christus tibi pro muneribus a te datis praemia sempiterna promittit et tu nil praestaturis cuncta largiris? Christus tibi et pro bonis bona inmortalia et pro malis mala aeterna proponit et tu nec bonis caelestibus flecteris nec malis perennibus commoueris? et credere te domino tuo dicis, cuius nec remunerationem desideras nec iracundiam contremescis?
And since this is so, what do you say, O man, who call yourself a Christian? When you see Christ in need, do you leave your means to people who are not in want? Christ is poor, and you heap up the wealth of the rich? Christ hungers, and you prepare delicacies for those who abound? Christ complains that he lacks even water, and you fill the cellars of drunkards with wine? Christ is worn out by want of everything, and you gather abundance for the luxurious? Christ promises you everlasting rewards for the gifts you give, and you lavish everything on those who will give nothing in return? Christ sets before you immortal goods for good deeds and eternal evils for evil ones, and you are neither swayed by heavenly goods nor moved by everlasting evils? And you say you believe your Lord, whose reward you do not desire and whose wrath you do not dread?
Notes and citation
Summary: Leaving wealth to the rich while Christ is in need contradicts belief in him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): cum baeo ita sint → cum haec ita sint; sempiterma → sempiterna; nec remunerationem dedderas → nec remunerationem desideras.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.23 (CSEL 8:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-23
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.24CSEL 8:308
Non credis igitur, sicut iam diximus libro superiore, non credis, ac licet religionem uestibus simules licet fidem cingulo adseras licet sanctitatem pallio mentiaris, non credis omnino, non credis. et hoc tam uiris istiusmodi quam feminis dico: non credunt. induat sibi quamuis quaelibet habitum sancti nominis et titulum sacrae religionis inscribat, si de substantia sua aliis magis quam sibi consulit, profecto non credit.
You do not believe, then, as we said in the previous book, you do not believe; and though you feign religion in your clothes, though you assert faith with your girdle, though you counterfeit holiness with your cloak, you do not believe at all, you do not believe. And I say this to men of this kind as to women: they do not believe. Let any woman put on the habit of a holy name and inscribe on herself the title of sacred religion; if she provides with her substance for others rather than herself, she surely does not believe.
Notes and citation
Summary: Religious dress cannot hide unbelief shown by bequests to others.
- The chapter numeral “V” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked; OCR slip): V. Non credis igitur, sicut iam diximus libro superiore, nos credis → Non credis igitur, sicut iam diximus libro superiore, non credis.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.24 (CSEL 8:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-24
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.25CSEL 8:308–309
nemo est enim credens, qui facultates suas aliis prodesse malit quam sibi, nemo est, qui beatitudinem aliis miseria sua emere contentus sit, nemo est, qui ut aliis paret delicias temporarias, subire egestates cupiat sempiternas. et ideo qui patrimonio suo aliis magis quam sibi consulit profutura sibi quae deo dederit omnino esse non credit. dicat enim mihi quilibet horum, cur facultates suas aliis derelinquit? numquid non ideo, quia profuturas cui reliquerit esse non ambigit? ideo absque dubio.
For no one who believes prefers his means to benefit others rather than himself; no one is content to buy blessedness for others with his own misery; no one, to prepare temporary delights for others, desires to undergo everlasting want. So whoever provides with his patrimony for others rather than himself does not believe at all that what he has given to God will benefit him. For let any of them tell me why he leaves his means to others. Is it not because he has no doubt they will benefit the one to whom he leaves them? Without doubt that is why.
Notes and citation
Summary: Bequeathing to others proves one does not believe gifts to God will benefit oneself.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray mark and OCR slip): nemd est enim → nemo est enim; <cur facultates suas aliis dereliaquit? → cur facultates suas aliis derelinquit?.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.25 (CSEL 8:308–309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-25
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.26CSEL 8:309
igitur, quicumque ille es, si ea quae alii relinquis, ideo relinquis quia profutura ei cui reliqueris certus es, sic profecto, si quaecumque religiosis muneribus prorogasses profutura esse tibi crederes, tibi absque dubio peculiariter deputares: quia quanto te plus amas quam eos, quibus relinquis, tanto magis tibi relinqueres, si profutura ea tibimet uel tenui opiniuncula iudicares.
So, whoever you are, if you leave to another what you leave because you are sure it will benefit the one to whom you leave it, then surely, if you believed that whatever you had spent on religious gifts would benefit you, you would without doubt assign it specially to yourself; because, as much as you love yourself more than those to whom you leave it, so much more would you leave it to yourself, if you judged, even by a slight little opinion, that it would benefit you.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anyone who believed giving to God would benefit him would give it for himself.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.26 (CSEL 8:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-26
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.27CSEL 8:309
non enim te odisti, ut prodesse tibi nolis, sed quae pauperibus dereliqueris profutura tibi esse non credis: unde est quod aliis magis quam tibi consulis, quia profuturum tibi opus religiosum esse non credis. sicut credis itaque sic recipies. tu saluatorem perparui pendis et te saluator nihil: tu Christum postponis aliis et te omnibus Christus: tibi in conparatione etiam hominum perditorum uilis est dominus et tu eris inter periturorum ultimos deputandus.
For you do not hate yourself so as not to want to benefit yourself; but you do not believe that what you leave to the poor will benefit you. That is why you provide for others rather than yourself: because you do not believe that a religious work will benefit you. As you believe, then, so you will receive. You value the Savior very little, and the Savior will value you not at all; you put Christ after others, and Christ will put you after all; to you the Lord is cheap even in comparison with lost men, and you will be counted among the last of those who perish.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who value Christ least will be valued least by him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): periturorum ultimos deputandus.- → periturorum ultimos deputandus..
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.27 (CSEL 8:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-27
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.28CSEL 8:309–310
Sed blandieris tibi forsitan, ut iam ante dixi, aliquo religiosae professionis intuitu. magis es debitor, quia proposito sanctitatis maiora promittis, et ideo plus tolerabis supplicii, quia minus solueris sponsioni. grandia specie polliceris et rebus nulla restituis, falsarii criminis reus es, deo cuncta mentiris. nec inmerito sacer sermo iudicium de templo dei incipiendum esse testatur; iudicium enim, inquit, de domu domini.
But perhaps you flatter yourself, as I said before, with some regard for your religious profession. You are more a debtor, because by your purpose of holiness you promise greater things; and so you will bear more punishment, because you have paid less of your pledge. You promise great things in appearance and render nothing in fact; you are guilty of the crime of forgery; you lie to God in everything. Not without reason does the sacred word testify that judgment must begin from the temple of God; for “judgment,” it says, “from the house of the Lord.”
1 Pet 4:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Religious profession increases guilt, since judgment begins with God’s house.
- 1 Pet 4:17. The chapter numeral “VI” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text): VI. Sed blandieris → Sed blandieris.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.28 (CSEL 8:309–310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-28). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-28
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.29CSEL 8:310
alibi quoque et a sanctis, inquit, meis incipite. sed ad superiora redeamus. ite, inquit auaris atque incredulis deus, ite in ignem aeternum, quem parauit pater meus diabolo et angelis eius. at liberandum te ab hoc malo quibusdam forsitan bonis corporalibus putas: pudicitiam quippe amasse te iactas. sed memento quia et illos, quos in euangelio inmortalibus poenis saluator tradidit, inpudicitiae non notauit. sobrietatem tibimet placuisse commemoras? nec illi, de quibus scriptura loquitur, ebrietatis crimine puniuntur. ieiunasse te dicis? nec illos prandia reos esse fecerunt.
Elsewhere too: “And begin from my holy ones,” it says. But let us return to what we were saying. “Go,” God says to the greedy and unbelieving, “go into the eternal fire which my Father prepared for the devil and his angels.” But you perhaps think you will be freed from this evil by certain bodily goods: you boast that you have loved chastity. But remember that the Savior did not charge with unchastity those whom he handed over to immortal punishments in the gospel. You recall that sobriety has pleased you? Neither are those of whom Scripture speaks punished for the crime of drunkenness. You say you have fasted? Neither did meals make them guilty.
Ezek 9:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:41 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Chastity, sobriety, and fasting do not save the greedy, who are condemned for lack of mercy.
- Ezek 9:6; Matt 25:41.
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.29 (CSEL 8:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-29). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-29
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.30CSEL 8:310
sed uidelicet magna causa est, qua tibi abstinentia ac ieiunio tuo placeas: qui ad hoc ieiunasti ad hoc parce exiliterque uixisti, non ut post mortem tuam egenos facultatibus tuis pasceres, sed ut censum cuiuscumque heredis diuitiis ampliares. magnos uidelicet abstinentiae fructus capis; minus enim panis tu manducasti, ut auri alius plus haberet. tibi uenter frugalitate decreuit, ut cuiuscumque hominis fortasse uitiosi thesaurus cresceret.
But no doubt there is great reason for you to be pleased with your abstinence and fasting: you fasted and lived sparingly and meagerly not so that after your death you might feed the needy with your means, but so that you might enlarge the fortune of some heir with riches. Great fruits of abstinence you reap, no doubt; for you ate less bread so that another might have more gold. Your belly shrank by frugality so that the treasure of some perhaps vicious man might grow.
Notes and citation
Summary: Fasting to enrich an heir is worthless.
- Ironic.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips): tibi uente, frugalitate decreuit → tibi uenter frugalitate decreuit.
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.30 (CSEL 8:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-30). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-30
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.31CSEL 8:310
cum ergo ad iudicium dei ueneris, iure inputare ieiunium tuum poteris dicens: ieiunaui, domine, et abstinui ac diu me ab omnium deliciarum fruge suspendi. et res hoc probat: ecce enim nunc heredes mei de meo afluunt, inmensarum diuitiarum copiis exabundant.
So when you come to the judgment of God, you will rightly be able to claim credit for your fasting, saying: “I fasted, Lord, and abstained, and long kept myself from the enjoyment of all delights. And the fact proves it: for behold, now my heirs abound in what was mine, they overflow with the abundance of immense riches.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Ironically, the faster’s only proof at judgment is his heirs’ wealth.
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.31 (CSEL 8:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-31). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-31
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.32CSEL 8:310
et ut aliquid etiam de euangelica lectione praesumas, hoc quod saluator dixit de illo diuite, potes et tu de heredibus tuis dicere: induuntur purpura et bysso et epulantur splendide, incubant defossis a me talentis, premunt argenti et auri congestas strues, materiam quoque his uoluptatum omnium praeparaui, distenduntur deliciis a me relictis.
And, to take something also from the reading of the gospel, what the Savior said of that rich man you too can say of your heirs: “They are clothed in purple and fine linen and feast splendidly; they brood over the talents I buried, they press down the heaped piles of silver and gold; I prepared for them the material of every pleasure as well; they are distended with the delights I left.”
Luke 16:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The heirs live like the rich man of Luke 16.
- Luke 16:19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): induuntur: purpura → induuntur purpura.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.32 (CSEL 8:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-32). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-32
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.33CSEL 8:310–311
ego diu abstinui, ut nunc illi ebriarentur. crapula est illorum frugalitas mea. natant tricliniorum redundantium pauimenta uino, Falerno nobili lutum faciunt, mensae eorum ac toreumata mero iugiter madent, semper uda sunt. luxuriant in peristromatis, quae ego feci, fornicantur in sericis, quae reliqui. et cum haec omnia pro te dixeris, quomodo non aeternam a Christo remunerationem mereri poteris, cui in talibus sanctis tantarum deliciarum copiam praepararis?
“I abstained long so that they might now be drunk. My frugality is their debauch. The floors of their overflowing dining-rooms swim with wine, they make mud with noble Falernian, their tables and embossed cups are always soaked with neat wine, always wet. They revel on the coverlets I made, they commit sexual immorality in the silks I left.” And when you have said all this for yourself, how could you not merit eternal reward from Christ, you who prepared such an abundance of delights for such saints?
Notes and citation
Summary: The frugal testator’s savings fund his heirs’ drunkenness and immorality.
- Ironic. Falernian was a famous Italian wine.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray marks): praepararis?... → praepararis?.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.33 (CSEL 8:310–311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-33). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-33
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.34CSEL 8:311
O quanto melius, quaecumque illa es, quanto melius et salubrius pauper fueras et egestuosa quam diues; paupertas enim te deo insinuare potuisset, diuitiae ream esse fecerunt. rectius ergo per indigentiam salua fueras, quam per opes tuas et te et alios praegrauasses, te scilicet, dum male aliis relinquis, alios, dum a te relicta et ipsi usu inhumanissimo male possident et post se male aliis derelinquunt.
O how much better, whoever you are, how much better and more wholesome it would have been for you to be poor and needy than rich; for poverty could have commended you to God, but riches made you guilty. It would have been more right, then, for you to be saved through want than to weigh down both yourself and others with your wealth: yourself, by leaving it badly to others; others, because they too badly possess what you left by a most inhuman use, and badly leave it to others after them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Poverty would have saved the testator; his wealth harms both him and his heirs.
- The chapter numeral “VII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked; digit for the letter O): VII. 0 quanto melius → O quanto melius.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.34 (CSEL 8:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-34). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-34
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.35CSEL 8:311
si uis ergo, quaecumque illa es, si uis tibi esse consultum, si uis aeternam habere uitam et cupis uidere dies bonos, relinque substantiam tuam indigentibus sanctis relinque claudis relinque caecis relinque languentibus: sint facultates tuae alimenta miserorum sit opulentia tua pauperum uita, ut illorum refrigeria praemia tua sint ut illorum refectio te reficiat. si enim illi de tuo edent, tu saturaberis: si illi de tuo biberint, tu sitis tuae aestum ardoremque restingues: te illorum uestitus uestiet, te illorum apricitas delectabit.
If, then, whoever you are, you wish to be provided for, if you wish to have eternal life and desire to see good days, leave your substance to needy saints, leave it to the lame, leave it to the blind, leave it to the sick: let your means be the food of the wretched, let your wealth be the life of the poor, so that their refreshment may be your reward, their restoring may restore you. For if they eat of yours, you will be filled; if they drink of yours, you will quench the heat and burning of your thirst; their clothing will clothe you, their warmth in the sun will delight you.
Ps 34:12 (33:13 Vulg.) (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 3:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 14:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Leave your wealth to the poor, and their relief will be your reward.
- Ps 34:12 (Vulgate 33:13); 1 Pet 3:10; Luke 14:13.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.35 (CSEL 8:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-35). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-35
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.36CSEL 8:311
non ergo uile ac despicabile putes, si substantiam tuam miseris atque egentibus derelinquas: Christum in illis facies heredem. et quid dicam de Christi nomine? Christum quidem heredem facis, sed tu hereditatis emolumenta percipies. quaecumque enim Christo reliqueris per Christum omnia possidebis.
Do not think it cheap and despicable, then, if you leave your substance to the wretched and needy: you will make Christ your heir in them. And what shall I say of the name of Christ? You make Christ heir indeed, but you will receive the profits of the inheritance. For whatever you leave to Christ you will possess entirely through Christ.
Notes and citation
Summary: Leaving one’s wealth to the poor makes Christ the heir and the giver the beneficiary.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): non ergo nile ac → non ergo uile ac.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.36 (CSEL 8:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-36). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-36
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.37CSEL 8:311–312
sed haec tu, ut reor, friuula esse iudicas et quasi somnia quaedam ac deliramenta contemnis; non enim credis Christum uera dixisse. et res probat nequaquam te ei credere; nam qui mandata eius nec in postremis facis, aut nulla esse omnino aestimas aut falsa esse condemnas. in quo quidem lugere omnes sanctos ac flere conuenit, nulli te et alios tui similes, nulli minus quam Christo credere.
But you, I think, judge these things trifles and despise them as dreams and ravings; for you do not believe that Christ spoke the truth. And the fact proves that you in no way believe him; for you who do not carry out his commands even at the last either think them nothing at all or condemn them as false. In this it is fitting for all the saints to mourn and weep, that you and others like you believe no one less than Christ.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ignoring Christ’s commands at the end shows one does not believe him.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.37 (CSEL 8:311–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-37). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-37
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.38CSEL 8:312
si tibi quicumque ex cauponibus quid promitteret, fidem promittenti non abnegares: si mutuum a te quippiam propola aut salgamarius postularet, redditurum eum non diffideres quae dedisses: mendacibus denique interdum atque periuris, cautione facta et dato fideiussore, res creditur.
If some tavern-keeper promised you something, you would not refuse him credit; if a huckster or a pickle-seller asked you for a loan, you would not distrust that he would return what you gave; in short, things are sometimes entrusted even to liars and perjurers when a bond has been made and a surety given.
Notes and citation
Summary: People trust even petty traders and liars with a bond, yet not Christ.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.38 (CSEL 8:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-38). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-38
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.39CSEL 8:312
Christus tibi et fidelissimam cautionem et fideiussores optimos dedit, cautionem scilicet in euangelio fideiussores apostolos suos, et si id parum est, patriarchas prophetas martyres suos totam denique diuinarum seriem litterarum: et non credis ei nec fidem commodas? quem, rogo, tam prodigum inter homines ac tam miserum inuenire possis, cui fidem sub tot fideiussoribus denegares? das itaque res tuas diuiti et egenis negas, das luxuriosis et negas sanctis, das cuicumque fortasse perdito et negas Christo. prout ergo iudicasti sic iudicaberis, sicut elegisti sic recipies: non habebis cum Christo partem, quem despexisti: cum his habebis, quos praetulisti.
Christ has given you both a most faithful bond and the best sureties: the bond, that is, in the gospel; the sureties, his apostles; and if that is too little, his patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, and finally the whole series of the divine writings. And you do not believe him or lend him credit? Whom, I ask, could you find among men so prodigal and so wretched that you would deny him credit with so many sureties? So you give your goods to the rich and deny them to the needy; you give to the luxurious and deny to the saints; you give to some perhaps lost man and deny to Christ. As you have judged, then, so you will be judged; as you have chosen, so you will receive: you will have no part with Christ, whom you despised; you will have it with those whom you preferred.
Matt 7:2 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s bond and sureties are the surest, yet he is refused credit; as one chooses, so one will receive.
- Matt 7:2.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.39 (CSEL 8:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-39). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-39
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.40CSEL 8:312–313
Sed dicit fortasse aliquis ex infidelium numero, non dignam esse causam quae uel deum moueat uel homines in aeternum periculum trahat. scio quidem quod omnes rei ueniabiles putant semper reatus suos, nam et furta furibus leues culpae sunt et innocua ebriosis uidetur ebrietas et apud inpudicos fornicatio scelus non est, quia nullum omnino tam grande crimen est, quod non cuius facinore committitur eius sententia subleuetur.
But perhaps someone of the number of the unbelievers says that this is not a cause worthy to move God or to drag men into eternal danger. I know indeed that all the guilty always think their guilt pardonable: to thieves thefts are light faults, to drunkards drunkenness seems harmless, and among the unchaste fornication is no crime, because no crime at all is so great that it is not lightened in the judgment of the one by whose deed it is committed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every sinner thinks his own sin pardonable.
- The chapter numeral “VIII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked; OCR slip): VIII. Sed dicit fortasse aliquis ex infidelium numero, noa dignam → Sed dicit fortasse aliquis ex infidelium numero, non dignam.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.40 (CSEL 8:312–313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-40). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-40
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.41CSEL 8:313
sed si qui uult ex peccatoribus scire quam grauiter censenda a deo sint magna crimina, discat qualiter in semet ipsis puniant sancti etiam leuia peccata, conscii scilicet iam ex ipsius dei dictis futuri examinis ac per domini sui uerba etiam iudicia rimantes et ideo semper in dei opere semper in conpunctione semper in cruce positi. beati qui cum omnium misereantur, sibi numquam penitus ignoscant, in nullo sibi parcentes sed totos se admodum deo inpendentes et ideo in futuro iudicio digni praemio, quia hic apud se iugiter in reatu.
But if any sinner wishes to know how gravely great crimes are to be assessed by God, let him learn how the saints punish even light sins in themselves: aware, indeed, from the words of God himself of the coming examination, and searching out even his judgments through the words of their Lord, and therefore always in God’s work, always in compunction, always set on the cross. Blessed are they who, while they have mercy on all, never forgive themselves at all, sparing themselves in nothing but spending themselves wholly on God, and therefore worthy of reward at the future judgment, because here they are constantly accused before themselves.
Notes and citation
Summary: The saints judge even their small sins severely, and so are rewarded at the judgment.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and stray mark): ex peocatoribus scire. quam → ex peccatoribus scire quam.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.41 (CSEL 8:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-41). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-41
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.42CSEL 8:313
nam de misericordia eorum ac largitate quid dicam, quae uirtus apud eos quasi uirtutum omnium initiatrix? plerique enim eorum haec habent quasi exordia et quasi incunabula conuersionis suae, ut priusquam limen sanctae professionis introeunt, de propriis sibi facultatibus nil relinquant secundum illud scilicet domini nostri dictum, quo ait: uende omnia bona tua et da pauperibus, et ueni, sequere me.
And what shall I say of their mercy and generosity, a virtue which among them is, as it were, the initiator of all virtues? For most of them have this as the beginnings and, as it were, the cradle of their conversion, that before they cross the threshold of holy profession they leave themselves nothing of their own means, according to that saying of our Lord in which he says: “Sell all your goods and give to the poor, and come, follow me.”
Matt 19:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Most monks begin their conversion by giving up all their property.
- Matt 19:21.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.42 (CSEL 8:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-42). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-42
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.43CSEL 8:313
et illi itaque secuturi uocantem deum prius uendunt omnia quam sequantur. diuitias enim onerum atque inpedimentorum loco esse ducentes expeditos se non putant ad sequendum, nisi omnia prius carnalium sarcinarum inpedimenta proiecerint, simul ut more hominum commigrantium prius ad locum habitaculi destinati res suas transferant quam se ipsos, scilicet ut, cum ea quae ad se pertinent uniuersa transtulerint, tunc ipsi in plenam ac refertam bonis inmortalibus domum, praemissa rerum facultate, commigrent, securi absque dubio nihil sibi postea defuturum, qui exituri de habitaculo uili et contemptibili ac iam iamque ruituro nihil illic de suo penitus reliquerint quod periret. haec ergo sanctorum spes haec fiducia est:
So they, about to follow God as he calls, sell everything before they follow. For counting riches as burdens and hindrances, they do not think themselves free to follow unless they first throw off all the hindrances of fleshly baggage; and like people moving house, they send their goods ahead to the dwelling appointed before themselves, so that when they have transferred all that belongs to them, they themselves may then move into a house full and stocked with immortal goods, their means having been sent ahead; secure, no doubt, that nothing will afterward be lacking to them, who, about to leave a cheap and contemptible dwelling that is on the point of collapse, have left nothing of their own there to perish. This, then, is the hope of the saints, this their confidence:
Notes and citation
Summary: The saints send their goods ahead to their heavenly dwelling before following Christ.
- The sentence continues in 4.44.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): praemissa rerum facultate,, commigrent → praemissa rerum facultate, commigrent.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.43 (CSEL 8:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-43). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-43
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.44CSEL 8:313–314
sic sibi opulenta rerum transmissione prospiciunt, ut aeternis inmortalium facultatum copiis perfruantur. ceterum tu, quicumque ille es aut quaecumque, quae animae tuae ac salutis oblita ipsa te resculis tuis spolias, quomodo in futuro quasi condita ac parata reperies quae hic aut non indigentibus aut etiam abundantibus deputaris? quomodo reddenda tibi a deo credis quae deo ipse non credis? postremo, quomodo reddi uis quae credi non uis? nemo enim sibi solui uult quae non commodat, nec tam stultus est ut quae non faenerauerit putet esse reddenda.
thus they provide for themselves by a rich transfer of goods, so as to enjoy the eternal abundance of immortal means. But you, whoever you are, man or woman, who, forgetting your soul and salvation, strip yourself of your little goods: how will you find in the future, stored up and ready, what you assign here to those who are not in need or even to those who abound? How do you believe that God will return to you what you yourself do not entrust to God? Finally, how do you want repaid what you do not want lent? For no one wants to be repaid what he does not lend, nor is anyone so foolish as to think that what he has not lent must be returned.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one can expect God to repay what he never entrusted to him.
- Salvian plays on credere (believe, entrust, lend).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): nec tam stultus est. ut → nec tam stultus est ut.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.44 (CSEL 8:313–314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-44). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-44
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.45CSEL 8:314
et ideo tu nequaquam a deo quasi reddendum sperare poteris, quod deo utique non credens reddere tibi deum ipse nolueris. unde conpleatur dictum in te diuinum: quia reliquisti aliis uel alienis diuitias tuas, sepulchrum tuum erit domus tua in aeternum. et illud, quod saluator ad similem tui loquitur: quia tepidus es et neque feruens neque frigidus, incipiam te uomere ex ore meo. et illud dicis diues sum et diuitias habeo et nullius egeo et nescis quia tu es miser et pauper et caecus et nudus?
And so you will in no way be able to hope from God for repayment of what you yourself, not entrusting it to God, did not want God to repay you. Hence let the divine saying be fulfilled in you: “Because you have left your riches to others or to strangers, your tomb will be your house forever.” And what the Savior says to one like you: “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth.” And: “You say, I am rich and have riches and need nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched and poor and blind and naked?”
Ps 49:10 (48:11 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:11 (48:12 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 3:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 3:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who do not entrust their wealth to God receive Scripture’s threats against the lukewarm rich.
- Ps 49:10–11 (Vulgate 48:11–12); Rev 3:16–17.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.45 (CSEL 8:314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-45). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-45
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.46CSEL 8:314
nemo itaque sibi in testamento suo hominem deo praeferens de uitae ac professionis praerogatiua aliquid blandiatur. poenalis est homini ac perniciosa securitas, praesumptae spes sarcinae sunt reatus, usurpata absolutio damnationem parat. quicumque sibi se excusat accusat deo secundum illud: nam qui se existimat esse aliquid, cum nihil sit, se ipsum seducit. nemini itaque facilis sua causa sit: nullus difficilius euadit, quam qui se euasurum esse praesumpserit.
So let no one who prefers a man to God in his will flatter himself at all on the privilege of his life and profession. Security is penal and ruinous to man; presumed hopes are burdens of guilt; a usurped acquittal prepares condemnation. Whoever excuses himself to himself accuses himself to God, according to the saying: “For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” So let no one think his own case easy: no one escapes with more difficulty than one who presumes he will escape.
Gal 6:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Presumption about one’s salvation is itself dangerous.
- Gal 6:3.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.46 (CSEL 8:314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-46). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-46
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.47CSEL 8:314–315
Dura haec forsitan atque austera uideantur. quidni? omnis enim disciplina, ut ait sermo diuinus, non est gaudii, sed maeroris. dura haec et austera sunt. sed quid facimus? non licet rerum mutare naturas, et enuntiari aliter ueritas non potest, quam uis ipsa exigit ueritatis. dura haec quidam putant: scio et satis certus sum. sed quid facimus? nisi duris non itur ad regnum. arta enim, inquit dominus, et angusta uia est, quae ducit ad uitam. et apostolus existimo, inquit, quod non sint condignae passiones huius temporis ad futuram gloriam, quae reuelabitur in nobis. indignum esse ad futurae gloriae conparationem omne opus dicit humanum.
These things may perhaps seem harsh and severe. Why not? For every discipline, as the divine word says, is not of joy but of sorrow. These things are harsh and severe. But what are we to do? It is not permitted to change the natures of things, and truth cannot be stated otherwise than the force of truth itself demands. Some think these things harsh: I know, and am quite sure of it. But what are we to do? There is no going to the kingdom except by hard things. “For narrow,” says the Lord, “and strait is the way that leads to life.” And the apostle: “I consider,” he says, “that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us.” He says that every human work is unworthy in comparison with future glory.
Heb 12:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 7:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The way to the kingdom is hard, but nothing compares with future glory.
- Heb 12:11; Matt 7:14; Rom 8:18. The chapter numeral “VIIII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text; spaced letters and stray mark; stray mark): VIIII. Dura haec forsitan → Dura haec forsitan; -dura haec quidam putant → dura haec quidam putant; sed quid facimus?. nisi → sed quid facimus? nisi; ar t a enim, inquit -dominus → arta enim, inquit dominus.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.47 (CSEL 8:314–315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-47). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-47
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.48CSEL 8:315
et ideo nihil durum aut austerum Christianis uideri debet, quia quantalibet pro sempiterna beatitudine Christo offerant, uile est quod datur, ubi tam grande est quod accipitur. nihil magnum in terris ab homine deo soluitur, ubi quod est in caelo maximum conparatur. durum est auaris ut largiantur sua. quid mirum? totum durum est quidquid imperatur inuitis.
And so nothing ought to seem harsh or severe to Christians, because however much they offer Christ for everlasting blessedness, what is given is cheap where what is received is so great. Nothing paid by man to God on earth is great, where what is greatest in heaven is purchased. It is hard for the greedy to give away their own. What wonder? Everything that is commanded to the unwilling is hard.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nothing given for eternal blessedness is too much.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray marks): quid mirum? -totum durum est quidquid imperatur inuitis.. → quid mirum? totum durum est quidquid imperatur inuitis..
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.48 (CSEL 8:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-48). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-48
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.49CSEL 8:315
paene omnis sermo diuinus habet aemulos suos. quot genera praeceptorum sunt tot aduersariorum. si largitatem esse in hominibus iubet dominus, auarus irascitur: si parsimoniam exigit, prodigus execratur. sermones sacros inprobi hostes suos ducunt. horrent raptores quidquid de iustitia scribitur horrent superbi quidquid de humilitate mandatur, aduersantur ebriosi ubi sobrietas indicitur detestantur inpudici ubi castitas inperatur. aut nihil ergo dicendum est aut quidquid dictum fuerit cuicumque supradictorum hominum displicebit. mauult quilibet inprobus execrari legem quam emendare mentem, mauult praecepta odisse quam uitia.
Almost every divine word has its opponents. As many kinds of precepts as there are, so many kinds of adversaries. If the Lord commands generosity among men, the greedy man is angry; if he demands thrift, the prodigal curses. The wicked count the sacred words their enemies. Robbers shudder at whatever is written about justice; the proud shudder at whatever is commanded about humility; drunkards oppose where sobriety is enjoined; the unchaste detest where chastity is commanded. So either nothing is to be said, or whatever is said will displease one or another of the men just mentioned. Any wicked man would rather curse the law than amend his mind, would rather hate the precepts than his vices.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every command of God offends someone; the wicked would rather hate the law than their vices.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): paene omnis -sermo diuinus → paene omnis sermo diuinus.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.49 (CSEL 8:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-49). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-49
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.50CSEL 8:315–317
inter haec quid agant quibus loquendi a Christo officia mandantur? deo displicent, si tacent, hominibus, si loquuntur. sed, ut Iudaeis apostoli responderunt, expedit magis deo oboedire quam hominibus. do tamen consilium omnibus, quibus grauis et onerosa est lex dei, si accipere non recusant, quemadmodum placere eis possint, quae deus praecipit. cuncti enim, qui oderunt mandatum sacrum, causam odii in se ipsis habent. omne fastidium non in praeceptis legis sed in moribus suis; lex quippe bona est sed mores mali. ac per hoc mutent homines propositum et adfectum suum. si mores suos probabiles esse fecerint, nihil eis ex eo, quod lex bona praecipit, displicebit. quando enim bonus quis esse coeperit, non potest non diligere legem dei, quia hoc intra se habet lex dei sancta, quod sancti homines in moribus. gratiae domini nostri Iesu Christi cum spiritu tuo: amen.
Amid this, what are they to do to whom the duty of speaking is entrusted by Christ? They displease God if they are silent, men if they speak. But, as the apostles answered the Jews, it is better to obey God than men. Yet I give advice to all to whom the law of God is heavy and burdensome, if they do not refuse to accept it, on how what God commands can please them. For all who hate the sacred command have the cause of their hatred in themselves. All the distaste lies not in the precepts of the law but in their own ways; for the law is good, but their ways are bad. And so let men change their purpose and disposition. If they make their ways commendable, nothing that the good law commands will displease them. For when anyone has begun to be good, he cannot but love the law of God, because the holy law of God has within itself what holy men have in their ways. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Acts 5:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 7:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 6:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Salvian must speak though it displease men; those who change their ways will come to love God’s law.
- Acts 5:29; Rom 7:12; closing blessing from Gal 6:18 / 2 Tim 4:22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): omni fastidium non → omne fastidium non; prohabiles → probabiles.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 4.50 (CSEL 8:315–317; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-50). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/4-50
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.